Chapter 16: Foodfight

Location: Beacon Academy, Vale Year: Unknown

We were at the cafeteria, just hanging out. I was only paying attention to my Pipboy, scrolling through all of the holotape recordings I found throughout the Wasteland, and came up upon the recording from my father.

Blake was next to me and noticed this and asks, "Is that a message from your dad?"

Then everyone at the table looked towards my direction. I responded, "Yeah. An old recorded message I found on..."

I paused for a moment and continued in sorrow, "...On the corpse of my dad's best friend, Jonas." as I ended with a sigh.

I then looked up and asked, "You guys want to hear it?"

Then Ruby asks, "You don't have to-"

I interrupted her, "Don't worry about it. Besides, I always listen to it when I needed to hear his voice, once in a while."

Then a pause came for a second, then I asked, "So, how about it?"

Yang responded, "Sure."

And everyone else nodded and I said, "Alright, here we go."

I then played the recording:

"Hold on Jonas, I need to record this first. I don't really know how to tell you this. I hope you'll understand, but I know you might be angry. I thought about it for a long time, but in the end, I decided it was best for you not to know. So many things could have gone wrong, and there's really no telling how the Overseer will react when he finds out. It's best if he can blame everything on me. Obviously, you already know I'm gone. It was something I needed to do. You're an adult now. You're ready to be on your own. Maybe some day, things will change and we can see each other again. God knows life in the Vault isn't perfect, but at least you'll be safe. Just knowing that will be enough to keep me going."

Then Jonas cuts in, "Don't mean to rush you, Doc, but I'd feel better if we got this over with."

Then Dad replies, "Okay. Go ahead. Goodbye, I love you."

Then the recording ends and I sighed, and said, "God, I miss him."

Then Nora asks, "Uh, what's an Overseer, Edward?"

Then Ren said, "Nora, please-"

I interrupted him, "It's alright, Ren."

Then I answered Nora, "An Overseer is a leader of the Vault. He or she 'oversees' everything and makes sure everyone in the Vault is safe and happy."

Then Blake asks, "And what's a Vault?"

I answered, "Vaults are fallout shelters or bunkers built by Vault-Tec, the same company who made this *I show them the Pipboy* here. The Vault I was raised in was Vault 101, one of the very few that is still occupied. But the Vaults were not really built to save humanity."

Then Weiss asks, "What do you mean?"

"Well, each and every Vault have some sort of twisted experiment they'd performed, like a test of the white noise on people, plant evolution and mutation..." Then I shudder and continued, "Clones, and the like."

The Pyrrha asks, "Why did you shudder at the word 'Clones'?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know." I answered and I thought back to Vault 108 and with the Gary clones, and shuddered again.

Then Jaune asks, "Well, not all of the Vaults' experiments were as bad, right?"

I nodded and said, "Yeah, like Vault 101 and others like it. But either way, they did kind of saved humanity, kind of."

Then a moment of silence came and then Blake broke the silence and asked, "Edward, if you don't mind me asking, but who exactly killed your father?"

Then a pause came and I answered, "He wasn't really killed, only forced to sacrifice himself for me and the project. But, nonetheless, the ones who cause my father's death was a group known as the Enclave, which was, or still is, the remnants of the U.S. government, but corrupted. They use plasma weaponry, as well as others, and wear the power armors like either the X-01's and the X-02's. The ones I first met were wearing the X-02's, and it looks like devil power armor."

Then Ruby asks, "What was your father's project?"

I then answered, "Well, first, let me tell you a verse from the scriptures here. The one that me and my dad love so much."

All of them nodded and I began, "Revelations 21:6, I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the Fountain of the Water of Life, freely."

Then everyone responded with awes and such. Pyrrha commented, "That verse is beautiful, Edward."

I chuckled and replied, "Yeah. This verse brought an idea to my parents. You see, the bodies of water in my world were polluted and irradiated, unsafe to drink. Then the verse became an idea; an idea that began the project, known as Project Purity. It was supposed to purify all the polluted water to fresh, clean water for everyone to drink, freely."

Again, the whole table bought out awes and such, and Weiss responded, "Wow, that's amazing! Did it worked?"

"Yeah, I was able to finish where my parents began, by using the G.E.C.K. for the project to perform successfully." I responded.

Then Blake asked, "The G.E.C.K.?"

"The Garden of Eden Creation Kit, or GECK, for short, was supposed to be use for terraforming after the Nuclear Apocalypse, reforming and purifying all the land. It was made by Future-Tec, a division by Vault-Tec, by a scientist named Stanislaus Braun. But it was unstable technology and since the scientists didn't have one, it became one of the minor reasons why the project was halted." I answered.

Then Ren asks, "What major reason did it brought the project to a halt?"

The pause came and I finally answered, "Me."

"What?" all of them asked.

Then Blake asks, "What do you mean?"

"Well, the project was mainly halted due to the fact when I was born. With the unsuccessful tests of the purifier and the death of my mother, my dad broke down. He then left the project to ensure my safety, and brought me to Vault 101. That's why he left the Vault when I was old enough to be by myself, so he could finish what he started." I replied.

Then a bunch of 'oh's and such erupted throughout the table. I then said, "I'll tell you more later, alright?"

I received a set of nods and then Ruby brought out of nowhere, a large pile of paper that are lists to do. We stared in disbelief and I thought, 'Oh God, what did you plan this time, Ruby?'

Then she began, "Sisters! Friends! Weiss."

Then I heard Weiss shouted, "Hey!"

Then Ruby continued, "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream..."

Then Yang commented, "This ought to be good."

Then Ruby continued, "A dream that one day, the nine of us would come together as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had, ever!"

The Weiss asks, "Did you steal my binder?"

Ruby replied, "I am not a crook."

Then Blake asks, "What are you talking about?"

I then said, "Ruby, you just ripped off the beginning from both Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., two of the most historical figures in U.S. History."

The Ruby asks, "Wait, I did?"

"Yes. The part, 'Four score and seven years ago' came from the 16th President of the U.S., Abraham Lincoln, who ended slavery and the 'I have a dream' part came from Martin Luther King Jr. and was part of his speech during the Civil Rights Movement."

Then a moment of silence came and Ruby broke it by replying, "Oh..."

Then Blake asked Ruby, "Again, what are you talking about?"

Then Ruby answered, "I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!"

Then Yang quoted, "I always kick my semester off with a 'Yang'!"

Everyone was silent and I muttered, "Dangit Yang."

Yang continued, "Ehh!? Guys? Am I right?"

Then someone threw an apple at Yang and yelled, "Boooooooo!"

Yang growled and Ruby said, "Look guys, it's been a good two weeks, and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But classes start back up tomorrow, which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today."

Then Weiss said, "I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store."

Then I saw Yang throwing back an apple and I muttered, "Really Yang?"

Then Blake said, "I don't know. I think I might sit this one out."

I then replied, "For me, it depends on what it is."

Then Weiss said, "Sit out or not, I think however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team."

Then Weiss stood up and continued, "I for one think that-"

Then out of nowhere, a pie hit Weiss' face and I then knew what was going to happen, which is...

Then Nora stood up on the table and unleashed her battle cry, "FOODFIGHT!"

'Shit, I'm outta here!' I thought as I sprinted out as the food fight began.

I ran outside and chaos ensued within the cafeteria and I sighed in relief.

XXXXXX

'3rd POV...'

Neptune and Sun were at Beacon, walking and chatting as they near the cafeteria...

"Man, that's harsh." Neptune said.

Then Sun began "So then here we are, at each others back and fighting against these White Fang members. Then this guy, named Edward Vaugh, was kicking ass flawlessly and somehow instantly change weapons and armor in a fly. Like this one part where he switched to this armored mech suit and caught this container that hung over us as it fell. He was so badass. And with Blake, she was super fast and-"

Then Sun noticed Edward and said, "Wait! There he is, right now!"

XXXXXX

'Back to Edward's POV...'

I stood there and heard a familiar voice shout out to me, "Hey, Edward!"

I looked and saw Sun along with a guy with blue hair. I waved and replied, "Hey Sun! How's it going?"

I then turned my gaze to the guy with blue hair and asked, "And who's this, Sun?"

Sun replied, "Ah, this is Neptune. He's a good friend of mine."

I nodded at Neptune and said, "Nice to meet you, Neptune."

He nodded and replied, "You, too."

Then a loud crash came from inside the cafeteria and we saw Yang flying high up into the sky.

They then looked towards me, and Sun asked, "Uh, Edward? What's happening in there?"

I replied, "If I were you, I would not go in there. Inside the cafeteria is a Foodfight warzone. It's highly dangerous, as you can see."

Then a watermelon came flying through a window, shattering the glass. We then noticed Ms. Goodwitch, annoyed as hell, and Ozpin and I said, "Thank God Almighty, you're here! It's chaos in there, and I believe we saw Yang flying high into the sky at some point."

"I see... Thank you, Mr. Vaughn, I'll take care of it from here." Goodwitch said.

Then we entered the cafeteria, which was a complete mess, and Goodwitch began to clean up everything in an instant, by using some sort of spell. Then she said softly, "Children, please... do not play with your food."

Then after a few moments, Yang finally came down and crashed landed. She gets up and showed thumbs up, to tell that she is okay. I heard Goodwitch growled and Ozpin said to her, "Let it go."

Then Goodwitch said, "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

Ozpin replied, "And they will be. But right now, they're still children. So why not let them play the part?"

Then Ozpin walked away and continued, "Afterall, it isn't a role they'll have forever."

XXXXXX

'Somewhere secluded around Vale...'

Emerald and Mercury arrived at the White Fang's secret hideout, while all of the members worked. Roman notices them and said, "Oh look, she sent the kids again."

Then Roman walked over and continued, "This is turning out just like the divorce."

Then Emerald replied, "Spare us the thought of procreating."

Then Roman said, "That was a joke. And this *holds up a photo* just might tell me where you two been all day."

Emerald freaked out and said, "Wha-?! How-?!"

"I'm a professional sweetheart. Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something. But of course, it won't do anything against a new rival of ours." Roman stated.

Then Mercury asks, "That's what we wanted to ask about. So... who's the new rival?"

"We don't know. He's a spook of some kind. He seems like he doesn't even exist. He's even a Veteran, at that. But the only thing we know is his alias." Roman said.

Emerald then asks, "Okay, which is?"

Roman sighed and then said, "I'm going to say the same thing that I told Cinder. He said, in quote, 'You may refer to me as the Courier, for I am both the messenger and the message. To my enemies, I am the Angel of Death, but to my friends and allies, I am known as the Messiah. So to you, I am Death.' But that's all we know."

Then Mercury asks, "What about a face?"

"No, because he wears this weird gas mask with glowing eyes. So we don't even know what he even looks like." Roman said.

"Oh." Mercury said.

Then Roman looks at the photo and asks, "Why do you have this address?"

Emerald remarked, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yeah, I would. Now, where have you been all day?" Roman asks.

Then Mercury steps up, "Cleaning up your problems... one of them, at least."

"I had that under control." Roman said.

Then Mercury continued, "Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise."

Then Roman snapped, "Listen, you little punk, if it were up to me, I would take you and your little street-rat friend here, and I would-"

"Do what, Roman?" a voice interrupted Roman. It was Cinder, and she appeared above them and she stepped on the elevator.

Then Roman chuckled nervously and said, "I'd uh... Not kill them?"

Then Emerald said, "Cinder!"

Then Cinder said, "I thought I made it clear that you were to eliminate the would-be runaway, aside from the Courier, of course."

Then Roman said, "I was going to..."

Then Emerald said, "He was going to escape to Vacuo. Mercury and I decided to take upon ourselves to kill the rat."

Then Mercury said, "I think he was some sort of cat actually."

"What? Like a puma?" Emerald asks.

Then Mercury replied, "Yeah, there ya go."

But then, out of nowhere, a voice shouted, "It's a warthog, for crying out loud!"

Then another voice shouted, "Shut up, Simmons!"

"No! You-" the first voice shouted until cut off.

Cinder shouted, "Quiet!"

Then silence came and Cinder asks, "Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?"

Then Emerald said, "I-I just thought-"

Cinder interrupts, "Don't think, obey."

Then Emerald replied, "Yes ma'am. It won't happen again."

Then Cinder turned to Roman and began, "And you..."

Roman let out a nervous laugh as Cinder asks, "Why wasn't this job done sooner?"

"Uh... Eh!" He shows the crates and shipments and continues, "Ehhhh? EHHHHHHHHH!?"

Then Roman said, "Sorry if I've been a little busy stealing every spec of Dust in the kingdom!"

Then Mercury said, "You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask."

"Look around, kid. I've got this town running scared... aside from this Courier, of course. For all I know, he could have fought in wars that we don't know about, because he seems not even scared at all. But besides him, the police are camping out every corner, the Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty in an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with." Roman stated.

Then he spun around and continued, "Speaking of which. If you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand-master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother."

Then Cinder walks up and replies, "Oh Roman. Have a little faith. You'll know what you need when you need to know it. Besides, we're done with Dust."

Then Roman started, "Okay, then what now?"

Then Cinder begins to walk away and said, "We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight."

Then Roman asks, "Coordinates?"

The Cinder simply stated, "We're proceeding to phase two."

To be Continued...